James Chapter 2: Verses 19-22 (NLT)
You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.
At first glance these verses might seem to suggest a reliance on doing things for God, but what it’s actually saying is that we need to work out our faith. Nicky Gumbel’s observation in the Bible in One Year for today is that genuine faith will be evidenced by how you live. In non-Christian terms a similar concept can be found in the saying, “Put your money where your mouth is.” In other words, prove that you believe.
James uses the example of Abraham who believed that his son Isaac had been promised by God to become the heir of all God had spoken to him of. He was a miracle, conceived and born in his parents’ old age. Yet God asked Abraham to sacrifice him. Abraham knew that to come into all that God promised he had to be obedient, even at such a great cost. As James puts it, Abraham had to trust that, if necessary, God would bring Isaac back from the dead. He didn’t just say he trusted God; he proved it. He showed that he was prepared to do as God asked.
What about us? Its easy to say we are a Christian but is it evident in how we respond to what God says. That’s what’s important. Its easy to choose to do good deeds, but the main thing is we are called to do what God wants and not just what we think is a good idea.
Dear Lord,
Help me not to be led by my ideas, even if they seem like good ones, but to be obedient to what You want. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.